Prime Minister Li, Grand Commandant Zhang, and Imperial Censor Huang had just finished a day's court session and returned home to enjoy their rare leisure time.
However, not long after, the imperial eunuch rushed over and delivered the emperor's order.
Upon learning that the emperor had ordered the three dukes and Su Yuntian to immediately go to the Zichen Hall for a meeting, they knew that something important must have happened in the court. They quickly dressed and hurriedly headed to the palace.
When the four arrived at the Zichen Palace, they received the report from Jinzhong and learned that something had happened at Yanmen Pass.
Among the group, there were still those who advocated for peace and resistance. Prime Minister Li was already used to opposing the Grand General, and he would always stand on the opposite side whenever Marquis Mu Wei advocated something.
Now that he knows Mu Yan has been captured by the Beiqi people, and knowing that Mu Weihou must be heartbroken, Prime Minister Li feels more schadenfreude than empathy.
Li Xiang said, "Your Majesty, Beiqi has only captured Mu Yan and has not yet declared war on our country. I think it would be better to wait and see."
Su Mu said, "What if Beiqi captures Mu Yan, which would be tantamount to declaring war on our country?"
Li Xiang replied, "This old minister believes that Dongyue has been at war for years. It was only after Beiqi surrendered that we were able to catch our breath, but now we have encountered natural disasters and man-made calamities. The court can no longer afford to fight Beiqi. This humble minister still advocates for peace talks."
Su Mu asked, "So, how does Minister Li intend to negotiate peace?"
Li Xiang said, "Return the three cities we took from them last year to them. The court doesn't have enough silver right now. Returning those three cities to Beiqi will reduce the population we have to support and save a lot of money."
"Nonsense! How is this any different from treason?"
When Imperial Censor Huang heard Li Xiang say this, he could no longer tolerate it and interrupted Li Xiang's treasonous words.
Since this matter involved Su Yuntian's former brother-in-law, Su Yuntian didn't want to interfere, so he just stood aside and remained silent.
As Grand Commandant Zhang was approaching retirement age, he was too lazy to get involved and simply stood by, watching Li Xiang and Imperial Censor Huang argue in silence.
Imperial Censor Huang had a fiery temper, and in front of several people, he pointed at Prime Minister Li's nose and launched into a tirade of abuse.
"This empire was won because of Your Majesty's correct leadership and the blood and flesh of the soldiers of Dongyue, not by kneeling on the ground and begging! Beiqi has always been a wolf in sheep's clothing and a fickle country. Last year, as a defeated nation, it signed a treaty of never attacking again. How long has it been since then, and it has attacked again and again."
"You return three cities to them today, but how do you know what other demands they will make tomorrow? If this continues endlessly, will we have to hand over our entire Eastern Yue Kingdom to Northern Qi?"
Li Xiang rolled his eyes at Imperial Censor Huang before turning to look at Su Mu.
"This is already the least costly price, Your Majesty! These three cities were originally located in Beiqi, which shows that victory and defeat are unpredictable. Now is the best time to recuperate and rebuild. I implore Your Majesty to make plans for the long term! As long as we survive, it won't be too late to launch an attack and retake them when Dongyue has recovered!"
Imperial Censor Huang pointed at Prime Minister Li and said, "You only think about us recovering. What if Beiqi recovers first? No one will stop you from being afraid of death, but don't stop the people of Dongyue from going to the battlefield to kill that Beiqi dog!"
Li Xiang blushed as Huang Yushi scolded him, and he scoffed.
"Who doesn't know that you and Marquis Muwei are good friends? Your agitation is just because you want to help your friend redeem his son. You speak so righteously, but maybe you got advance notice and even received a bribe from Marquis Muwei, which is why you speak so eloquently in this hall."
"Li Gou, what are you barking about? Your own heart is filthy, so why do you think of others as so disgusting?" After saying this, Imperial Censor Huang wanted to rush over and beat up Prime Minister Li.
When Jinzhong saw that the two were about to fight, he quickly stepped forward to pull Huang Yushi away. When Li Xiang saw that Jinzhong was holding Huang Yushi back, he continued to speak in a sly tone.
"See? I was right. He's desperate."
Upon hearing this, Imperial Censor Huang felt his blood rush to his head. He yanked Jin Zhong's hand away and shouted at Prime Minister Li.
"Li Gou, I'll fight you to the death today!" After saying that, he suddenly rushed towards Li Xiang and punched him.
Suddenly, a piercing sound of porcelain shattering on the ground came from the direction of the group.
The group immediately stopped and looked in Su Mu's direction.
"How dare you! I sent you here to come up with a solution, not to fool around in front of me. If you're so good at fighting, I'll send a few of you to lead the charge. Do you even respect me?"
The men knelt down and remained silent because the emperor was furious.
Su Mu looked back and forth between the people in front of him, and it took him a long time to calm his anger. He glanced at Su Yuntian, who had been silent since entering the hall, and asked him a question.
"Prince Yun, I would like to hear your opinion on this matter?"
Su Yuntian said, "Your Majesty, Beiqi has only captured Mu Yan and has not yet truly launched an attack on Dongyue. Your Majesty, I propose that we take the initiative to negotiate."
"But what is urgent now is that if the peace talks fail and the soldiers on the border have no food to eat, and if Beiqi really attacks, without food, the soldiers will not be able to fight, and Yanmen Pass will fall without a fight."
Su Mu frowned deeply. When the topic of food came up, everyone fell silent.
Yes, at this time, the entire country of Dongyue was dirt poor. If this war really broke out, without food and supplies, the country's borders would fall without a fight.
"Wang Yun, please continue," Su Mu asked.
"However, this matter is not yet beyond redemption. After all, it's not just Dongyue that is short of food. Beiqi has also reached its most difficult point because of the snow disaster last year, which caused countless cattle and sheep to freeze to death. Otherwise, they wouldn't have taken such a desperate gamble."
"Your Majesty, I believe that we should mobilize the entire nation to have each prefecture and county first gather provisions, and then select an envoy to go and negotiate peace."
Su Mu asked, "What bargaining chips should we use to negotiate?"
Su Yuntian said, "Make them release Mu Yan, retreat to the depths of the desert, return a city to them, plus 30,000 shi of grain. This is the bottom line."
After listening, Su Mu agreed with Su Yuntian's method: "I think what Prince Yun said is a good method. Does anyone have any different opinions?"
The men exchanged glances and said, "We have no objections."
Su Mu then asked, "In your opinion, who should be sent as envoy to negotiate with Kitasaki this time?"
Upon hearing this, the group fell silent again. No matter who was recommended, it would raise questions of their respective stances.
In addition, he was afraid that if he was selected, it would be fine if the negotiations went well, but if they failed and triggered a war between the two countries, his reputation, and even his entire clan, would be cursed by the people of his country for eternity.
Moreover, because they were all veteran officials of the previous dynasty, Su Mu had always been wary of them. However, their political foundation was deeply entrenched, making it difficult to remove them.
This created a situation where the emperor both needed them and feared they might harbor disloyal intentions. And this is exactly what happened to Marquis Muwei.
At this moment, Grand Commandant Zhang finally stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, this old minister believes that since the method of peace talks was proposed by Prince Yun, it would be better to let Prince Yun serve as the peace envoy."
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